I am a 50 year old female in excellent health. Recently I decided to look for a surgeon to perform a mini face/neck lift with fat transfer. My surgeon will also perform a myectomy of the lateral orbicularis. To save on the operating room cost he has suggested we do it in his procedure room. All searches indicate no more than 2 hours under a local for these types of procedures. My doctor said the time frame will be just over 5 hours. Can a patient withstand this time frame under local?

Doctor Answers 9

I have performed Face Lifts for over 20 years and 5 hours seems like a very long time to perform a limited dissection Face Lift. Our Celebrity Face Lift takes 90 minutes and we frequently do these under local. The local typically lasts about 90 minutes, so in a 5 hour time span you'll have to have the injections repeated at least 3 times but the problem is that once the tissues are dissected, the local has nowhere to be injected. Once the local wears off, bleeding and discomfort are the main issues.

You could still have the Face Lift done in an OR with local anesthesia which allows you access to the cautery, suction, better lighting all which should be used for any Face Lift IMO.

I performed hundereds of fat transfers between 1989-91 and haven't used them since because they are not predictable and don't last. From your photo, your cheeks would benefit more, IMHO, from a predicatble filler like Radiesse or Pelane or for a permanent augmentation using Cheek Implants however for Cheek Implants you would need a general anesthesia.

Cost saving on face lift.

March 11th, 2011

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

Local anesthesia is often given with other medications, such as Valium, before and during a procedure. Certain patients can tolerate this situation, others may not. Greater degrees of sedation or even general anesthesia may be desired by some patients and surgeons. Five hours of just local anesthesia would be difficult for most patients.Plus it is hard for a surgeon to work on an uncomfortable patient.
A procedure room that is used for the kind and amount of work you describe serves as an operating room. Your safety should be of utmost consideration.The proper monitoring equipment and medication should be available.
In California, accreditation of office operating facilities is mandatory if drugs are used that create a state of "conscious sedation" or deeper levels of anesthesia. More important, accreditation involves a commitment of compliance to many details of patient safety. Your surgeon's office should have a current accreditation certificate for you to review.

Mini Lift Pictures

Minilift, etc. Under local anesthesia.

March 11th, 2011

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

I do these procedures under general anesthesia in our certified operating center for two reasons. I concentrate on your surgery and the anesthetist concentrates on you! Secondly, severalhours of surgery is very uncomfortable for the patient.

Facelift anesthesia

March 13th, 2012

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

To me the real answer is why would you want to avoid the operating room? I understand the cost considerations, however one needs to look at the overriding safety issues. My suggestion would be to have the procedure performed in an accredited operating room. The process of accreditation requires adherence to stringent safety standards. To undergo a lengthy procedure outside of an accredited operating room implies that these safety standards will not be in place for your procedure. Having the procedure under local anesthesia also implies that there will be no anesthesiologist present. If one is going to forego both the safety of the operating room environment, and all of the benefits of a trained anesthesiologist, then one should probably opt for a simpler and quicker operation.

Safety

August 4th, 2011

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

I think you need a more complete lift to help with your lower neck. Although, you can do this under local five hours is way too long and would be difficult for you. I prefer general anesthesia because you airway is protected and therefore safer

Mini lift works well

June 21st, 2011

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

I perform mini lifts almost every week. They do very well and most are completed in less than 2 hours, but some people can tolerate a much longer procdure. I have at the most, completed a mini lift, open brow lift and all 4 lids for blepharoplasty. Most patients tolerate it very well without any sedation.

Twilight Anesthesia is Safe

March 15th, 2011

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

In general, twilight anesthesia (local anesthesia with sedation) can be safely used for procedures lasting 5 hours. This includes facial, breast, and body procedures. On the other hand, you may have quite a problem being comfortable for that period of time with just local anesthesia and no sedation. It isn't necessarily unsafe, but you will probably want to get up and leave before too long! Real surgery requires real anesthesia - don't skimp just because it's cheaper.

These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as
a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you
have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute
or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.